I have a theory that there is a impossible trinity (like in economics), where a food cannot be delicious, cheap and healthy at the same time. At maximum 2 of the 3 can be achieved.
Is there any food that breaks this theory?
Edit: I was thinking more about dishes (or something you put in your mouth) than the raw substances
Some popular suggestions include
- fruits (in season)
- lentils, beans
- rice
- mushrooms
Onion. It’s cheap, nutritious, acts as a low-key anti bacterial solution, can be served in a multitude of ways, or eaten raw.
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eaten raw
You, sir, are a monster.
I loove raw onion… except when it burns. Which is always
Hmm time for a snack
Takes a bite from a raw onion like an apple
Tony abbott is that you?
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Great fashion accessory too
Well, something being delicious is subjective, but if we assume a “general acceptance” of most delicious foods, potatoes could fit easily. They can be cooked in all kinds of ways, are very nutritious and, again, pretty much everyone says they’re delicious.
That’s a good point, but even within potatoes there is perhaps still a trade-off between “delicious” and “healthy”. As in steamed potatoes without sauces or stuff is kind of meh, while french fries are not that healthy.
Oven-baked potatoes is where it’s at.
I don’t even like french fries that much. Steamed potates, or baked ones by the campfire, I’m all in.
Ah yes, a food that you can eat for three days without pooping while you stay in a tent?
A legend has been born already for this network xD
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I’m a big fan of these cooked in an air fryer. Usually a bit cheaper than black beans as well in my area, although I prefer the latter on balance.
just make sure you keep the smoke extractor on for an extra 15-20 min after turning off the air fryer to get all the carcinogenic particles out of your kitchen.
What causes the carcinogenic particles?
There was a paper somewhere that shows the high temperature cooking method would result in release of acrylamide? I don’t remember the exact chemical it talked about but the gist is that the person eating the air-fried food aren’t as susceptible to the carcinogens than the person cooking the food because the particles got pushed out the fryer very rapidly.
hummus is crazy easy if you have a pressure cooker (I prefer my stovetop model)
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Roasted chickpeas are amazing.
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potato
Boil em, mash em, put em in a stew - Samwise Gamgee
Cashews. Benefits: heart-healthy fats, antioxidants, essential minerals.
These are insanely expensive in Australia.
:( how much exactly? here in the US it’s $10 for a 500 gram jar.
And that is cheap in your mind?
I make a curry of: tofu, green lentils, pearl barley, pearl cous cous, pumpkin, potato, onions, and whatever else is in the vege drawer of the fridge. Then I cook it in a laksa paste with coconut milk. it’s delicious and keeps in the fridge for at least a week with no meat.
I have a related one - I’m kinda continously on the lookout for a refreshing (evening) drink especially during hot weather.
So far, I haven’t found one that doesn’t contain at least one of:
- (added) sugar
- caffeine
- alcohol
Or a combination of those.
On the other end of that scale, I do quite like White Russians. The Dude says hi.
Carbonated mineral water. Yeah there are environmental concerns with bottled water but this stuff breaks up the monotony of just drinking water pretty good without any caffeine, alcohol, or sugar.
To take it one step further, a drink that is quite popular where I like - carbonated water mixed with freshly squeezed lemon juice. Very refreshing in summer and I drink it all the time.
It doesn’t have to be bottled. You can buy your own carbonation machine for less than 100€. Use nice cold water and add some ginger or lime to it, and it makes for a great summer drink.
I don’t know much about it but isn’t carbonation machine kind of unsustainable with all those carbon bottles?
You just need one soda maker and a single reusable bottle.
yeah right but you need to buy those cylinders of CO2 no?
they are refillable. there is no reason to throw them away.
Eggs
I really don’t like eggs, but (eggs+flour) make easy noodles that will make several filling meals.
Eggs are my favorite food probably. It’s hard to beat eggs
You already mentioned them, but I’m a huge fan of lentils. They go with so much stuff and you can combine them with a variety of spices. Give me any leftover ingredients and some lentils, and I’ll cook up something delicious. I can and will eat lentil soup for days.
They are also a pretty solid crop, they can grow in a variety of climates, require little water and are good for the soil.
The biggest problem with this is subjective metrics.
“Healthy” depends a lot on both what your needs are and the rest of your diet, there’s no one-size-fits-all.
“Delicious” is even more subjective.
‘Cheap’ at least is fairly objective, but even so different qualities, different locations, or different seasons can change prices drastically, and that’s before you get into the fact that what really matters is the more-subjective ‘cheap to someone of your means.’
Cucumbers
parsley in the form of tabbouleh salad: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabbouleh https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parsley
check out the vitamins and minerals in parsley, it’s one of the super foods.
When I was in college, I had the rule of not buying anything that is >$1.50 per pound. This is what I was reduced to (prices may be different now due to inflation and geo area):
- Apples, oranges, grapes, strawberries when they are on sale
- Milk, yogurt
- Pork shoulder, chicken quarters, thighs, drumsticks
- ground pork, ground beef
- Carrots, broccoli, potatoes, cabbage (you’ll be surprised at how good thinly sliced cabbages taste in a sandwich)
Cabbage sandwich? Is there some special prep to it? Seems like it would be super bland
Spice it up with sriracha mayo on toasted bread. salt, pepper and a sprinkle of msg on tomato slices and add simple pickled pink onions. Slice the cabbage into very thin strips and assemble. It’s my favourite sandwich.
Pickled onions: Red onions, sliced thinly, Boil 50/50 water and vinegar, add salt to the solution and optionally a bay leaf or other aromatics to create the brine. Put sliced onions in a jar and fill the jar with the brine, put it in the fridge after cooling down and wait a night for the sharp oniony taste to disappear.
Kebab plate with vegetables.
A coleague of mine was eating it when he was on a diet to lose weight. It’s basically kebab/gyros meat and a vegetable salad with a dresing (usually tzaziki). You have basically no sugar in it, it’s just protein and vitamins.
Back in the day it cost like 4-5 € where I live which was pretty cheap for a lunch. Now it’d more like 6-7 € but that’s still decent
That is not at all a healthy meal, lol.
That happens when you get told as a child that meat is always healthy.
Thank you for judging my whole childhood based on one comment! 👍
Umm what’s unhealthy in it? :)
I guess it depends how we define what’s a healthy meal but in my book few rules to eat healthy are:
- lower your sugar, flour, potatoes income to minimum
- lower your fat income and choose right fats
- eat more fruits and vegetables
- maintain right ballance of carbs, fats and proteins
A “kebab salad” sounds quite healthy in that take. Despite sounding strange that a common street food could be healthy
It’s a lot of salt, processed meat, and the salad bar at a normal kebab shop is not filled with nutrient dense vegetables. If it’s me, I’d eat it as a takeaway and spread the meat over three days’ worth of meals and up the nutrient content with broccoli and nuts.
